Right In Front of Me (Finished)

Chapter 25: Gotta Get Him Back

I get in Greyson's truck, and we drive to his house. His dad is gone, but his mom is still home. I say, "There's no way your mom will-" But Greyson cuts me off. "She'll understand, trust me." We walk into the house, and his mom is startled by our presence. "Oh! Wh-what are- what are you, uh doing here? School isn't over. Is it? Is today a half day? I can never keep up." Greyson says, "No, it's not, but, Avalon's having a bit of a... rough day. She just can't stay at school right now. I'll tell you later, can we just hang in the basement?" She widens her eyes in confusion, then her face melts into what looks like sympathy. "Are you all right, sweetheart?" She asks me. I sniffle and just shrug. She says, "O-okay, but if the school calls-" Greyson kisses her cheek, says, "I know you'll handle it. Thanks mom." We then go downstairs.
        We just try and watch T.V. for a little while, and Mrs. Montana tries to offer me food, but Greyson tells her to leave us alone in a nice way. At some point, Greyson says he'll be right back, and I just lay in my beanbag chair, and cry softly at what everyone said, but mostly at the fact that it will be impossibly hard to return to school tomorrow after the giant scene everyone caused. Greyson comes back, trying to hide a smile on his face. "What?" I sniffle. "Nothing..." He answers. I don't feel like asking more questions. I just lay there, until...
        The doorbell rings. Soon enough, all of my friends begin pouring down the staircase to the basement. I don't believe it. Greyson got them all to come here after school to help me. Yolanda and the gang all pile into the basement, followed by Diego, who is awfully close to Mercedes. I get up and hug everybody, crying- not sad tears- but happy tears. Because I just want everybody here to make me feel better. After everyone got a hug, I see Hallie come down the stairs, and while I hug her I cry into her hair, but I am soon swept away by Taylor, informed to wash my face in the sink in the bathroom, to wash away my running makeup. When I return, I see Hayden come slowly down the stairs, and the room falls quiet. He awkwardly says, "Hi." I croak out a hi as well. The room gradually reaches its maximum volume, and Hayden and I just stand there looking at each other.

        We all just mostly hung out, but at some point, Greyson got Mason, Jackson, Diego and Hayden (who hesitated) to meet him in a different room to "discuss what must be done to handle the stunt that Marry pulled". None of the girls were told  what they had decided on; if too many people knew their plans, they could (according to Greyson) get exposed before they are taken into action. And apparently only the guys could know, because they need muscle for this. I really hope they don't do anything... illegal.
        Around 5:00, though, everyone had left except for Greyson (of course) Hayden, Taylor and Hallie. Hallie says, "I think I'll just get a ride from Taylor." Hayden asks, "Are you sure? I was your ride here, and-" She interrupts him, saying, "I'm sure. Bye." She gives me a hug, followed by a hug from Taylor, while Hallie kisses Greyson. Then they leave. "And then there were three." I say.
        Greyson's mom tells Greyson that he'd better get going. "Why is that, mom?" he asks. She answers, "We have that baby shower for your Auntie Della at 5:30, and it's in Wellington." He groans, says, "Alright, well Avalon, do you need me to take you home?" I was about to answer when Hayden says, "I'll take her home." We both look at him, then I look at Greyson, who says, "Are you sure? I mean, she lives right next d-" Hayden cut him off. "I'll take her home." He repeats. Grey just nods, then hugs me. He whispers ,"Good luck, and I'll be at your window in the morning at 5:30." I nod, say bye to him, and then Hayden and I leave.
        I am super nervous. Last time I had a conversation with him, I revealed everything. I am not sure what Hayden is gonna do. I get in his Jeep, which now has doors attached because of the cold weather. He drives to my house, then parks out front. I look in the driveway, and notice that all of the vehicles are gone. The thought then hits me: my family has no idea where I am. I check my phone, which has a billion texts from Summer. I text her back that I was Greyson, and that some serious drama happened. She texts back immediately, saying okay, and that we'll talk about it later because she is on a date with her boyfriend, Connor. I tell her to enjoy her date. Dad must have a meeting for the Sea Scouts, which is a Boy Scouts group at our church made for kids to go sailing, that my brother and him partake in. They're meetings always last for hours. My mom is at work, so no one is home.
        I turn to Hayden and invite him in for tea. Gah, now I sound like Greyson's mom...
        We walk in and stand at the front door staring at each other. He says, "I have a question for you." I am startled by that. I stutter, "O-okay, um, well, uh... here, come upstairs with me. I just need to take off my jacket and stuff." He nods and follows me upstairs. And stuff?! What was THAT?
        In my room, I turn toward my closet to hang up my jacket while Hayden sits on my bed. My heart rate speeds up a lot, and I am freaking out internally. What does he want?!
        I turn around and smile weakly at him. I shut my closet door, and ask, "So, uh, wh-what did you want to ask me?" I awkwardly stand there with my arms crossed. "What does everyone at school think happened...you know, with us?" He asks. I uncross my arms, say, "Overall, that I either cheated on you, you know because I'm a total slut, or that I just dumped you, because I thought it would make me look, I don't know, cool, I guess. Both of which are quite inaccurate. If any of us was dating two people, it was you, since I kind of have two versions of me. But now I really think that I can combine those two versions to create one... very confused girl." I ramble. He nods, asks, "Confused about what?" I think for a second, reply, "How I'm gonna be able to return to school without being humiliated. Who my friends at school are. Um, why the word abbreviation is so long." He laughs a little, then answers me. "You've got us to protect you. And your friends? They are whoever have been loyal to you, and those people were all in Greyson's basement today, and in the hallway with our arms around each other. They are the people you can trust for sure." I say thank you, and he says he better get going. Then he says, "And, I have no idea why the word abbreviation is so long." I nod, say goodbye, and watch him walk away from me for the second time in the past four days.

        I wake up the next morning and decide: I am going to do all that I can to get Hayden back. I get up, get changed, and get my makeup done all within twenty minutes. Greyson shows up and asks what Hayden wanted, and I tell him. Soon enough, we are off to school.

        At lunch... Greyson and I sit at our usual table, but Hayden is swept off to sit with his football team. Hallie stills sits with us, though. Greyson goes to the bathroom, and I use that as an opportunity to ask Hallie something. "Okay, so Hallie, here's the thing-" I get cut off by her, though. "You want me to get you and Hayden back together?" She asks, raising her eyebrows. I am shocked that she knew, but say, "Would you?" She hesitates, says, "Well- um, I don't want you to get mad at me if it doesn't work. I don't want to be in the middle of things, bit I can tell you where he'll be tonight,  in the rare occasion that up just so happen to end up there at some point tonight, also." She winks, then continues. "He will be at Subzero tonight." I ask her, "Subzero? Why?" He looks around, then whispers, "He wants to, um, drink to his problems at the bar." I consider this, then say, "What time? Because I want to get there before he gets slammed, so that he'll remember us getting back together if we do. Unless I make a total fool of myself, then I would want him to forget it." She laughs and tells me to be there at 7:00.
        
        I am in my room getting ready to go when Greyson slips into my window. "Whoa-whoa, what are you getting all fancy for?" He asks. I would prefer not to lie to him, so I say, simply, "Subzero to get Hayden back." His face turns to mush. "I-I thought you were, uh, moving on from him." I turn around, ready to go, and say, "I'll do that when I know for sure that he doesn't still want me." I walk down the stairs to the front door, Greyson following me.

***Greyson's POV***

        I follow her down the stairs, in hopes of changing her mind. She turns to face me when she is at the door, and puts on her heels. I just look at her. I have had so many mixed emotions about her lately. Now just looking at her, I just want her to stop running. I want her to stay at home with me and play stupid board games and watch dumb movies and just stay with me and be dumb. I don't want her to get him back, as terrible as it sounds. Getting him back may make her happy again, but I don't want her to be happy with him, I just want her to be happy the way she always was before, when we would have dumb movie nights and sleep out on the bridge. Looking at her now, I know that the emotions I feel toward her can't be pushed down and forgotten. And they are not mixed anymore; I know exactly what they mean. I love Avalon. I have all along without knowing it. Just looking at her, seeing how much effort and hope she puts into doing something that may not even work, just makes me love her even more. She is so... little on the inside, so insecure about who she really is. But I love her.
        Avalon looks at me and asks, "What are looking at me for?" I can't tell her... not yet. Not when she's already so confused about Hayden. I'll tell her if he knocks her down and rejects her. But I have to let her go tonight, because I have ideas of my own I have to get done before she gets home. So I reply, "Oh, you just... look so beautiful. Good luck, I guess." I watch her roll her eyes. She really does look beautiful. I see a paper sticking out of her purse. "What's that?" I ask. She looks down at it, and tucks it into her purse. "It's just, um, a song I wrote for Hayden a while ago. If he says no, I-I'm gonna give it to him." I just say 'Oh'. She says bye, and leaves. The moment she's gone, I run up to her room, into my window, and down into my garage.
        My family is the kind of family that buys things thinking that we will use them later, and then we never do. I find an old tent set, and pull out the support poles. I bring up to the bridge, and put them all together in a half circle shape. I make two of them, and nail them into the floor of the bridge, so that the half circles are each a foot away from each window, with six feet between them. I have one end of the pole on one side of the bridge, and the other end of the pole on the other side. I take some extra poles and nail them horizontally on each side of the poles for support. I return to the garage and find some wired mesh fence material and some white hard-duty cloth. A lot of it. On the bridge, I drape the fencing over the poles for extra support, next laying insulation over it (my dad's a carpenter, so he has loads of this stuff) and then do the same with the white hard-duty cloth, nailing it to the edges of the bridge.
        Next, I hang Christmas lights on the roof of it inside of the structure. Overall, now there is a giant covered arch going across the bridge horizontally. On the inside of it, it is beautiful now with the lights in there. I plug the end of the night into an outlet in the wall in my room, right next to the window. I hang extras of the white material in both door ways to the bridge, and cut a long slit in them to create curtains. I staple the top of the curtains to the rest of the material on the top of the arch on both sides to keep them in place. I staple narrow and long  pieces of cloth to each side of the curtain, so we can tie them to keep extra cold out. I look at my creation and I am overall pleased. It looks great, and is surprisingly warm inside.
        By the time I am done, I go downstairs to Avalon's front door and see her climbing out of the car. She has her heels in her hands, and she is running toward the door. That's nod good.
        She bursts in the door, and looks at me, confused why I am right where she left me. She melts into my arms, sobbing. I hold her, then carry her upstairs. I am glad I closed her bedroom curtains so she will not see the bridge cover immediately. Not that she is really looking around anyway. She is just sobbing into my shirt, and then looks up at me. "What did he say?" I ask, softly. "He t-told me that he doesn't want to b-be with me. He said he can't handle getting hurt a third time."
"A third time?"
"I asked him that too, and he just told me that he had his heart broken in his freshmen year, and then I hurt him last week."
"Did he see you crying, Avalon?"
"No. I left with dry eyes, but kind of broke down in my car, and then again a minute ago."
"Okay. Okay, why don't you just get changed, wash your face, and... well, I have something to show you that may cheer you up." I say.
She nods and gets up to change.